Archive for September, 2015

The Scottish Liberal Democrat Party has recently released data shows that 7,253 complaints about NHS staff levels have been made to management in the NHS Scotland in the last two years. The data-which was obtained under the Freedom of Information Act-showed that the majority of these complaints came from concerned healthcare professionals.

The figures showed that the number of vacancies for consultants had increased by a factor of three, rising from 128 to 447.5, while the number of vacancies for nursing and midwifery positions have increased by twenty percent, from 1,865 to 2,256 in the past three years.

Jim Hume-the Liberal Democrat Health spokesman-cited the figures in an attack against the Scottish National Party (SNP) and their management of the health sevice. He stated: “These stark figures underline the pressure that NHS staff are under as a result of the failure of the SNP government to get to grips with the challenges facing our health service.”

As a response, SNP Health Secretary Shona Robinson said: “[The complaints about NHS staff levels] are critically important. Under this government, NHS staff numbers have risen by over 10,000, with more doctors and nurses now delivering care for the people of Scotland”.

She added: “We also have record high numbers of GPs – including the most GPs per head of the population in the UK. To give people the high quality healthcare they deserve, we are investing in and supporting a highly skilled NHS workforce. Over the past year alone, this includes an additional 600 nurses and midwives.”

The sheer volume of complaints about NHS staff levels are a major cause for concern in Scotland. It is notable that the complaints are being made by employees concerned about safety issues in the hospitals in which they work. Low staffing levels place those healthcare professionals under more strain, meaning mistakes are more likely to be made. Patients may suffer avoidable injuries or the unnecessary deterioration of an existing condition as a result.